WEB SPIN

The top Talk stories of 2009

December 31, 2009|By Steve Johnson

How best to celebrate the new year? By looking back at the old one, of course. The Talk page covers the stories people are -- or are going to be -- discussing. Here are some of the most talked-about stories of 2009, based on page views on the Tribune's Web site.

Michael Jordan girlfriend: Yvette Prieto accompanied Michael Jordan to Basketball Hall of Fame (Sept. 15). Almost nothing draws clicks on the Web quicker than the promise of a picture of an attractive woman. Add the NBA's greatest player to the mix, and you've got a winning formula.

Obama baby boom: Predicted surge in births goes bust (Aug. 11). November's theory was that people would be so full of optimism and hope after the 2008 election, they'd celebrate by creating new life. August's reality was that birthrates remained stable, perhaps due to the prophylactic effect of joblessness.

Obama may want to forget this photo (Jan. 19). This story, right before the inauguration, featured a 2003 photo of the then-state senator holding a plunger as he marched in a Chicago parade with one of those suburban lawn mower brigades. To some, the photo demonstrated that Obama wasn't always thinking about higher office. To the nation's conspiracy theory fringe, it served as proof of Obama's secret plan to send the country down the toilet.

London's taste of Chicago: Sears Tower name change prompts payback (March 13). Willis Group Holdings, a British insurance company, got the name of one of the world's tallest buildings changed merely by leasing three floors. In retaliation, we suggested renaming London landmarks after Chicago icons: Buckingham Palace becomes Buckingham Fountain Palace, for instance, and Tower of London changes to Sears Tower of London. While nobody's adjusted to the name change yet, we should maybe just be thankful that the company wasn't called "Leaning."

Are those Obama's hands on cutout? (Jan. 30). Some said a life-size cardboard cutout of the president had the hands of a heavier white man. Not so, said the cutout maker, a Utah company. But it was pulling the model anyway because it had the president holding glasses, which he does not wear. It was also, in retrospect, a mistake to have the president doing "jazz hands."